The Pittsburgh Riverhounds scored twice Saturday night at Blackbaud Stadium to hand Charleston its second home defeat of the season.
Matt Tuttle opened the scoring in the 6th minute and Shintaro Harada added a second goal in the 68th as the Riverhounds bounced back from Friday night’s loss in Charlotte.
With the loss the Battery (7-6-3) remains at third position in the USL PRO American Division.
“We gave up a goal and we didn’t react. Our defenders had tired legs and we were trying to go up a hill that just didn’t work for us,” said Battery Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser.
Coming off a 2-0 win in Wilmington on Friday the Battery never managed to get its rhythm and found themselves behind quickly when a break in Battery defense allowed for a shot by forward Jason Yesiley in the 6th minute. Yeisley’s shot ricocheted off the right post. Catching Battery goalkeeper Keith Wiggans off balance, midfielder Matt Tuttle met the rebound and blasted a shot into the open net.
In the 57th minute the Battery push tried to reduce the deficit with one-two pass from Dane Kelly to Nicki Patterson but his shot missed just inches wide of the net.
Pittsburgh added the second goal in the 64th minute after Harada received the ball just outside the box. He made a quick turn and then fired a strong shot past Battery goalkeeper Keith Wiggans into the back of the net.
Nicki Paterson had the best chance of the game for Charleston in stoppage time after picking up a loose ball twenty-five yards out. Paterson drove a shot at the goal but Gilstrap got across quickly and turned the ball around the post for a corner.
The Battery returns to Blackbaud Stadium next Friday night to face the LA Blues; gates open at 6 PM with kick off set for 7:30 PM.
Match Summary
- Half 1 Half 2 Final
- Charleston Battery 0 0 0
- Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1 1 2
- Referee: Agostino Minasola
- Assistant Referees: Skye Arthur Banning, Howard Ashe
- Attendance: 3,965
- Weather: Clear 80
Scoring Summary Goal (Assist) Minute
- Pittsburgh Riverhounds Tuttle 6
- Pittsburgh Riverhounds Harada 68
Charleston
Keith Wiggans, Mark Wiltse, Colin Falvey, Sean Flatley, Nigel Marples, Jon Gruenewald (Seedy Bah 55), Cole Peverley (Nicki Paterson 43), Evan Taylor, Brandon Massie (Alex Caskey 84), Levi Coleman (Dane Kelly 55), Stephen Armstrong (Zach Prince 64)
Players Not Used - Andrew Dykstra, Mike Zaher
SHOTS: 12 (Paterson 3); SAVES: 2 (Wiggans 2); FOULS: 5 (Wiltse 2); CORNER KICKS: 6; OFFSIDES: 0; PENALTY KICKS: (NONE); CAUTIONS: Falvey 89; EJECTIONS: (NONE)
Riverhounds
Hunter Gilstrap, Niko Katic, Sterling Flunder, Louie Rolko, Ben Horner, Tommy Gray (Mike Seth 89), Matt Tuttle (Stefan Lundberg 70), Sammy Appiah, Shintaro Harada, Jason Yeisley (Jeremy Deighton 68), Chad Severs (Matt Fondy 58)
Players Not Used - Derrick Yubbi, Neil Shaffer
SHOTS: 11 (Yeisley 3); SAVES: 3 (Gilstrap 3); FOULS: 8 (Tuttle 3); CORNER KICKS: 1; OFFSIDES: 0; PENALTY KICKS: (NONE); CAUTIONS: Harada 89; EJECTIONS: (NONE)
